Maharashtra forms judicial commission to investigate Akshay Shinde encounter

Maharashtra forms a judicial commission to investigate the police encounter of Akshay Shinde, amid doubts from opposition and the Bombay high court.

Mumbai: Days after supporting the Thane police’s decision to kill Akshay Shinde, the arrested accused in the Badlapur sexual assaults case, in “retaliatory firing”, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday constituted a judicial commission to investigate the encounter.

Maharashtra forms judicial commission to investigate Akshay Shinde encounter

The commission will be headed by justice Dilip Bhosale, the former chief justice of the Allahabad high court. Justice Bhosale is also heading a committee investigating the May 2024 Ghatkopar hoarding collapse, in which 17 people were killed and several others were injured.

According to a notification issued by the state government, the commission will investigate whether any individual, group or organisation was directly or indirectly responsible for the September 23 encounter. It will also investigate steps taken by the police in handling the situation and do a detailed examination of all aspects related to the incident.

Justice Bhosale will have to suggest short-term and long-term measures to be taken by the police to avoid a recurrence of such incidents. He has been given three months to complete the inquiry. The state government has taken cognisance of the matter and felt it necessary to inquire into the exact sequence and cause of events that led to the police encounter, said a senior government official.

The decision to set up a judicial commission just weeks ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections assumes importance. It comes days after opposition parties slammed the state government and questioned the police’s version of what transpired during the encounter. Last week, the Bombay high court, too, raised serious doubts about the Thane police’s claims that Shinde, a layperson who wasn’t physically strong, snatched a police officer’s pistol, unlocked it and opened fire before he was shot dead. The court had insisted that the investigation into the encounter be impartial and thorough.

Shinde’s father, Anna Shinde, has filed a petition in the Bombay high court seeking a special investigation team be constituted to probe the encounter, which he claimed was a cold-blooded murder committed by people in uniform.